The biggest names in Hollywood and Broadway recorded for AFRS during the
war years, The American Forces Network can trace its origins back to
May 26, 1942, when the War Department established the Armed Forces Radio
Service (AFRS). The U.S. Army began broadcasting from London during
World War II, using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The first transmission to U.S.
troops began at 5:45 p.m. on July 4, 1943 and included less than five
hours of recorded shows, a BBC news and sports broadcast. That day,
Corporal Syl Binkin became the first U.S. Military broadcaster heard
over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to
five regional transmitters to reach U.S. troops in the United Kingdom as
they made preparations for the inevitable invasion of Nazi-occupied
Europe. Fearing competition for civilian audiences the BBC initially
tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within Britain
(transmissions were only allowed from American Bases outside London and
were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of
British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless AFN
programmes were widely enjoyed by the British civilian listeners who
could receive them and once AFN operations transferred to continental
Europe (shortly after D-Day) AFN were able to broadcast with little
restriction with programmes available to civilian audiences across most
of Europe (including Britain) after dark. As D-Day approached, the
network joined with the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to
develop programs especially for the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Mobile
stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment, and a record
library were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the
field. The mobile stations reported on front line activities and fed the
news reports back to studio locations in London.

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